But Arsenal are understood to be best placed to land the Argentine, with the player keen on a switch to London.

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ANTOINE GRIEZMANN: The Atletico Madrid star and Manchester United target is set to voice Superman in the the French version of the upcoming Lego Batman movie

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LONDON CALLING: Messi will only live in London if he moves to England

The Gunners beat Liverpool to the signing of Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona last year in similar circumstances.

Brendan Rodgers wanted the Chilean to replace Luis Suarez, but Sanchez insisted on moving to the capital.

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UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Messi could be leaving Spain

And Messi's desire to live in London could now count in Arsenal's favour again.

Chelsea face a battle to climb back into the top four and qualify for next season's Champions League.

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NEW HOME: Could Messi be playing at Arsenal next year?

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ACTION: Messi playing against Arsenal earlier in his career

They trail fourth-place Manchester United by 13 points and are struggling for form.

And a finish outside of the European places will almost certainly rule them out of contention of landing Messi if he opts for a switch next summer, leaving Arsenal at the front of the queue for the four-time World Player of the Year.